OJ Mayo for Wizards #1 (Blake Griffin)

[Ed Wood]

This is a solid example of why it's really just safer to say "my team isn't interested" as opposed to worrying about the quality of the trade for the other teams involved. Anyway, my team (Washington) wouldn't be interested.

[Mufasa_BenLinus]

The fact that people would rather have an unproven Griffin than Mayo at this point is laughable. Mayo has sick potential too. And with the right coaching he'd be great beside Arenas, don't forget Mayo was drafted with big time defensive potential, he could slide into that role and cover PG defensive duties fine

The Blake G hype train is out of control

[deeney0]

If the Wolves got #1, I'd love to trade it for Mayo, though I believe I'm in the minority there.

[Mufasa_BenLinus]

I think Griffin's ceiling is where Bosh and Amare are at now. Which in value is slightly above Mayo if you strip away the contracts.

And again that's not considering Griffin still needs to learn a jumpshot, which half his offensive game will have to be based on. If he can't shoot he's going to be a laugher in the NBA.

[Ed Wood]

The fact that people would rather have an unproven Griffin than Mayo at this point is laughable. Mayo has sick potential too. And with the right coaching he'd be great beside Arenas, don't forget Mayo was drafted with big time defensive potential, he could slide into that role and cover PG defensive duties fine

The Blake G hype train is out of control

How ridiculous is it to think that the size, interior scoring and rebounding that Griffin would provide would just be more valuable to the Wizards than another high volume perimeter scorer? The refrain among Wizards fans has been for years that we're more than set on the perimeter but starved for ass kicking and name taking in the paint. And not to disparage Mayo but contracts aside he is currently significantly less valuable than a player like Amar'e or Bosh, though I defer to your expertise when it comes to his ultimate potential. Again, maybe you don't want to do this, we don't either. Where's the problem?

[Storm Surge]

Let's think about this for a second. Would the Wizards trade Griffin for Roy? Because Mayo will most likely become better than Roy. Worse as a playmaker but a superior scorer.

Mayo as a rookie is already the Grizzlies best player, better than Gay.

I would put Mayo's value ahead of Durant's value when he was a rookie. Obviously Durant has improved in his 2nd year, but Mayo will improve too.

[deeney0]

Mayo will most likely become better than Roy

I'm a big Mayo fan, but I think that's going quite a bit further than the evidence so far suggests, and I don't think you'll find a ton of support for this viewpoint.

I would put Mayo's value ahead of Durant's value when he was a rookie.

And you're going to be totally alone there.

[Cammo101]

If Sacramento gets the #1 pick a move like this makes a little sense. They do not need a big and could use a guy like Mayo. Memphis could then nab Griffin and then take Harden with their pick.

At the end of the day though, trading the #1 pick rarely happens.

[thegreatblaze]

Because Mayo will most likely become better than Roy. Worse as a playmaker but a superior scorer.

Says who? I've seen a lot of Mayo, and I can safely say that it's not "likely" he will be better. Come on now.

And I wouldn't trade Roy for Griffin, not a chance.

[Spykes]

Let's think about this for a second. Would the Wizards trade Griffin for Roy? Because Mayo will most likely become better than Roy. Worse as a playmaker but a superior scorer.

Mayo as a rookie is already the Grizzlies best player, better than Gay.

I would put Mayo's value ahead of Durant's value when he was a rookie. Obviously Durant has improved in his 2nd year, but Mayo will improve too.

Normally I wouldn't say someone is wrong when it comes to opinions... But wow.

First off, how exactly is Mayo "a superior scorer" to Roy? Even looking back at Roy's rookie season, that statement looks foolish. Roy averaged just under 17ppg (16.8 to be exact) and did so by averaging 13.4FGA's a game. Mayo is currently at slightly over 18ppg (18.2) and averaging 15.5FGA's a game. Roy averaged 35mpg to Mayo's 37mpg. Shooting percentages are roughly the same across the board for each player. It should also be pointed out that Mayo has been the Grizzlies goto scorer all season long, Roy was a 2nd option to Zach Randolph in his rookie season. Bottom line, there's nothing to suggest Mayo is a superior scorer nor that he will "most likely become better than Roy".

Then to say Mayo's value is above Durant's as a rookie?! Common now, Durant was a bit underwhelming in his rookie season, but he still clearly had a lot of skill.

I'm not saying Mayo has plateaued or anything, I'm sure he's gonna be a really good player, but ease off the guys jock a bit there Storm. Yikes man.

[Assassin_1]

I think the Wiz could use Griffin in their starting five,
McGee
Griffin
Jamison
Butler
Arenas.
Looks great to me and is a title contender easy and if they can trade Jamison for a legit SF that can score and play defense and pass they are totally set.

[CB-Blazer]

Let's think about this for a second. Would the Wizards trade Griffin for Roy? Because Mayo will most likely become better than Roy. Worse as a playmaker but a superior scorer.

Mayo as a rookie is already the Grizzlies best player, better than Gay.

I would put Mayo's value ahead of Durant's value when he was a rookie. Obviously Durant has improved in his 2nd year, but Mayo will improve too.

-1

[nate33]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm just not getting all the love for Mayo in this thread.

pace adjusted per 36 numbers - as rookies:

Code: Select all

Player           PTS  REB  AST  STL  BLK   TO eFG%  TS%  PER
mayo,o.j.       18.0  3.8  3.0  1.1  0.2  2.7 .490 .535 14.2
durant,kevin    20.3  4.3  2.4  1.0  0.9  2.9 .452 .520 15.8
roy,brandon     17.8  4.7  4.3  1.2  0.2  2.2 .492 .548 18.1

Mayo is a good player, no doubt, but he's not on the same level as Roy or Durant. Roy put up better per minute numbers in nearly every statistical category as a rookie than Mayo is posting now (Roy was 15 months older as a rookie than Mayo is now). Mayo averages 0.3 more points per 36 than Roy but Rookie Roy beats him in rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, FTA, eFG% and TS%. Durant as a rookie put up slightly better numbers than Mayo despite being 2 years younger.

Mayo also posts really bad on/off numbers. Roy has neutral on/off numbers as a rookie (and fabulous numbers now). Durant also had really bad on/off numbers as an 18-year-old rookie (but they're quite good now).

Mayo is going to be a good player, probably an all star. But he's not a franchise player. Very few shooting guards can be considered untouchable. There's Wade, Kobe, Roy and Durant, that's about it. I don't think Mayo is in the class. Mayo will be on the next tier down with guys like Joe Johnson, prime Rip Hamilton, Kevin Martin, etc. It's great to have a guy like that, but they're not untouchable. Teams will trade a guy like that to get a top tier big man.

[loserX]

Mayo is going to be a good player, probably an all star. But he's not a franchise player. Very few shooting guards can be considered untouchable. There's Wade, Kobe, Roy and Durant, that's about it. I don't think Mayo is in the class. Mayo will be on the next tier down with guys like Joe Johnson, prime Rip Hamilton, Kevin Martin, etc. It's great to have a guy like that, but they're not untouchable. Teams will trade a guy like that to get a top tier big man.

If you are going to deny Mayo top tier status (and you may well be right), you can't give it so freely to Blake Griffin. The draft reports I read mostly have him topping out around Boozer, maybe Bosh. And that's *IF* he develops. Given the lofty criteria you force on Mayo...is that a top tier big man?

Let's try it this way. The Wizards have Arenas, Butler, and Jamison. Very, very good ESTABLISHED pro talent. If they take Griffin and he doesn't pan out, or is even only "pretty good", their margin for error is MUCH better than Memphis, who would have to trade Mayo and be left with Rudy Gay and...?

Again, I'm sure the Grizzlies would love to have Griffin. But he's still a question mark, and they would be crazy to trade the only "sure thing" (or at least, the closest facsimile they have) for him. Riskier assets, including Gay and other picks, make more sense for them. (And again, I don't think the Wiz should do this anyway.)

[junot111]

Doesn't make sense for either teams.

[nate33]

Mayo is going to be a good player, probably an all star. But he's not a franchise player. Very few shooting guards can be considered untouchable. There's Wade, Kobe, Roy and Durant, that's about it. I don't think Mayo is in the class. Mayo will be on the next tier down with guys like Joe Johnson, prime Rip Hamilton, Kevin Martin, etc. It's great to have a guy like that, but they're not untouchable. Teams will trade a guy like that to get a top tier big man.

If you are going to deny Mayo top tier status (and you may well be right), you can't give it so freely to Blake Griffin. The draft reports I read mostly have him topping out around Boozer, maybe Bosh. And that's *IF* he develops. Given the lofty criteria you force on Mayo...is that a top tier big man?

Fair enough. There is no guarantee that Griffin is a top tier big man. Let's go with your Boozer comparison. I think most teams would trade a Rip Hamilton caliber player for a Boozer caliber player.

The problem is that good big men are scarce. You can use the MLE in free agency to pick up a John Salmons/Mike Miller caliber player to handle shooting guard and be fairly happy. The best big man you can get with the MLE is somebody like Joe Smith or Nick Collison. Those guys are pure role players. If they're anything more than a #4 option on offense, you've got a problem

[Ruzious]

Mayo is never going to be an all-star. He's always been overrated, and this thread just shows that hasn't changed. He's a 6'4 200 lb shooting guard with 6'6 wingspan who hogs the ball more than most point guards. He's got the ego of Kobe with half the talent. And his presence is doing wonders for Conley's development. Even Kevin McHale was smart enough to not take him.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I don't like it for either team.

Me neither. Except for Memphis, I really really really like it for Memphis.

[yungal07]

Mayo is never going to be an all-star. He's always been overrated, and this thread just shows that hasn't changed. He's a 6'4 200 lb shooting guard with 6'6 wingspan who hogs the ball more than most point guards. He's got the ego of Kobe with half the talent. And his presence is doing wonders for Conley's development. Even Kevin McHale was smart enough to not take him.

I agree with this, although I have no clue about his ego. He's an undersized guard who averages 18 ppg. Maybe he reaches 20 ppg, but I don't he's going to be much better than what he is now.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

If the Kings get Griffin, maybe something like Gay, Conely and possibly a late pick if Memphis has any.

Hawes
Thompson
Gay
Martin
Conely

Gasol
Griffin
Warrick
Mayo
Jennings?

Any opinions on this?